Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 60965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“I don’t want to talk about anything,” I tell him and my voice shakes. My body is on fire, and the only thing pumping in my blood other than adrenaline is fear. The memories of the other night come back full force. His hands on me, his lips so close to my neck. “Stay away from me!” I scream at him, and the force of my emotions makes me tremble.
“All right now, you need to put that down,” he says with more authority than he has, although his expression is still riddled with worry. He takes a step forward, arms still raised.
“I said stay away!” I cry out as if I’m scared and powerless, because that’s how I feel. “Get the fuck out!”
“I’m going, I’m going,” Liam says quickly. “I came in through the front and I’m headed out the front door, okay?” He says the words quickly, his own breathing ragged. “There must’ve been a misunderstanding,” he tells me quickly, rushing out the words. Just then, his gaze rises just a touch higher, his focus no longer on me, but instead trained on something behind me. I didn't hear the back door sliding open until it was too late, and my skin pricks with the realization that I’m trapped. There’s someone behind me.
I scream and as I do, the gun slips again in my sweaty grip and goes off. My eyes dart to it and it’s like I’m watching in slow motion as it happens.
The sound of the bang.
The kick of the gun, making my arms jerk.
Large hands settle on my shoulders as the scream tears up my throat.
The bang still resonates in my ears as my body shakes and I try to push the man behind me away, but he holds me close as he says, “It’s okay!”
I can hardly breathe, let alone recognize the voice.
Fear is what guided everything. I swear. I didn’t mean for any of it to happen.
I look up and into the eyes of Mason, only it’s not him. It’s his father, looking down at me with sympathy, with sadness and horror.
Only when I see it’s him do I look back at Liam.
The blood drains from my body when I see he’s not moving. He’s face-down, his arm at an awkward angle. “Liam,” I call out, but he doesn’t answer.
The gun is hot in my hands. A sickness grows in my stomach.
I shake my head over and over. What happened? I didn’t. I swear I didn’t shoot him.
Mason’s father grips me again and I stumble backward, desperate to get away from him. My legs kick out as I scramble across the floor.
“Leave me alone!” I yell at him, still holding the gun, but pointing it toward the ground. He isn’t dead. I didn’t kill him. I didn’t mean to pull the trigger.
He lets me go and says with nothing but compassion, “I saw what happened. It was an accident.” He almost whispers the words. His eyes are wide as he nods. “It’s okay, I saw it.”
His words are comforting.
It was an accident. I swear it was. I look back at the body on the floor, my vision blurred from tears. It was an accident. How did this happen? Why are they here?
Too many questions scream in my head. Too many things are so very wrong. I look up at him with desperation and say, “Please, help me.” My face crumples as the sobs start. “Save him.”
What have I done?
Mason
The door is already open as I storm into the house. Everything rages inside of me. I drove as fast as I could. But it’s not fast enough. I’ve never prayed so much in my life as I did on my way to her place.
Bang! I swear I heard a gunshot, and I’ve never felt so cold in my life. The only thing keeping me from dying inside as I race through the first floor of her place, is hearing her cry. It means she’s still alive.
“Jules!” I call out her name just as I get to her living room, all the way in the back of the townhouse.
My world spins as I stop short in the room. My father’s hands are on Jules’s shoulders, and Liam is dead on the floor.
“It was an accident,” she whimpers over and over and Jules’s hands shake as the gun falls to the floor.
“It’s all right,” my father whispers into her ear. “I saw it,” he says and looks up at me, “it was an accident.” His statement is firm. Just like his grip on her. He nods and I can already see the wheels spinning. He set this up. It’s the ending he wrote. Liam the villain, and he gets to be the hero. Liam’s wife gets his properties, then my father can buy them. Jules and I have our villain and he’s in the clear.